London's Leighton House Museum and Liverpool's Walker Art Gallery have just opened two major Pre-Raphaelite exhibitions

Two collectors play key roles in the beautiful Pre-Raphaelite exhibitions currently being held at Liverpool’s Walker Art Gallery and Leighton House Museum in London.

A Canadian, Dr Dennis T Lanigan, spent 30 years compiling the works in the London show, set in Lord Leighton’s opulent home and studio and ranging from preparatory sketches to highly finished drawings.

Several works at the Walker show scenes of rural life and British landscape as they were once viewed by Liverpool painters including Davis, James Campbell and William JJC Bond.

“For many years, we’ve planned to tell the story of the Pre-Raphaelites through a Liverpool lens,” says Sandra Penketh, the Director of Art Galleries. “The Pre-Raphaelite movement is an incredibly appealing one.”

Liverpool was the only provincial town to have its own Pre-Raphaelite school, the Liverpool Academy. “The city of Liverpool influenced a movement that would change the course of British art in the 19th century,” points out Christopher Newall, the curator of the exhibition.

“The support of the city of Liverpool was invaluable in establishing and positioning Pre-Raphaelitism within the Victorian art world.”

“It was in 1882 that Leighton himself donated one of his paintings to the Gallery at the invitation of our founders, the Marquess of Lorne and Princess Louise.

"To say that we are thrilled about this collaboration is an understatement.”

Pre-Raphaelites on Paper: Victorian Drawings from the Lanigan Collection is at Leighton House Museum, London until May 29 2016. Follow the museum on Twitter @RBKCLeightonH and Facebook. Pre-Raphaelites: Beauty and Rebellion is at the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool until June 5. Follow the gallery on Twitter @walkergallery and Facebook.

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